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Team of the Week: Red mist lifts

Mon, 16 Sep 2013 12:26

It was a weekend of emotional outbursts, and for good reason. Not surprising then it took some doing for us to calmly sit down and objectively decide on our famous weekly selection.

We tried, as best we could, to look at the quality of the individuals in their respective positions when the playing field was still level.

New Zealand's win over the 14-man South African team was duly rewarded with eight members in our starting XV and another three bubbling under.

The other members of our starting XV come from Argentina (four) and South Africa (three).

Australia had to be content with places in our back-up squad, given the fortuitous nature of their win over the Pumas, another game where the referee's influence may have been more prominent than it should have been.

There are five Wallabies bubbling under, dour Springboks, along with three each form the All Blacks and Pumas.

15 - Juan Martín Hernández (Argentina):
This was an interesting debate, but the Puma No.15 eventually won the vote because most of his six runs were forward, while more than half of Israel Folau's metres from his six runs were sideways.Bubbling under: Israel Folau (Australia)

14 - Ben Smith (New Zealand):
Not much competition for the All Black flyer.Bubbling under: James O'Connor (Australia)

13 - Conrad Smith (New Zealand):
If you can't remember not seeing much of him, go study the game again. It may not be flash, but the little things he does so well makes his overall role in the All Black game so important.Bubbling under: Adam Ashley-Cooper (Australia)

12 - Jean de Villiers (South Africa):
He stood firm and remained calm when his team needed him most.Bubbling under: Felipe Contepomi (Argentina)

11 - Julian Savea (New Zealand):
It may have been against a tiring defence that was a man short, but he still managed to beat a number of defenders in one-on-one contests.Bubbling under: Bryan Habana (South Africa)

3 - Juan Figallo (Argentina):
Again showed up the Australians' weaknesses in the set pieces. Nobody from the other game really challenge his superiority.Bubbling under: Owen Franks (New Zealand)

2 - Bismarck du Plessis (South Africa):
He has to be judged on the time he was on the field, when he was a destructive force without stepping over the line, given that both the IRB and SANZAR said he should not have been yellow carded in the first place. We have to point out, this is NOT a sympathy vote.Bubbling under: Adriaan Strauss (South Africa)